


Tracing dates

by sapphicxrey



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cute, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22070197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicxrey/pseuds/sapphicxrey
Summary: Everyone knows soulmates have each other birthdates marked on their bodies.After they win the war, Finn and Rey finally have an opportunity to have a birthday, to live outside the war with people who care for them.Poe almost dies when Finn chooses a date he knows very well.
Relationships: Forcepilot - relationship, Poe Dameron & Finn, Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 44
Kudos: 568





	Tracing dates

The days are long and warm, the bubbling murmur of the victory still under their skins. The trio is passing the time in the Falcon, the old crappy ship now serves as their favorite hiding place when political reunions and funerals arrangements become too much for any of them to handle it. 

Rey is laying on the floor, manipulating some fruits with the force and trying to juggle them, a swirl of mostly purple, with white stripes and red leaves flying around. Finn is yelling at her things along the lines of “that’s cheating, Rey, it doesn’t count!” from his position, sprawled horizontally in the copilot’s seat, his head hanging out of one of the armchairs. Poe is just sitting in the pilot seat, trying to be annoyed and doing paperwork but really he’s just laughing along.

Finn catches one of the fruits and gives it big, runny bites, some juice slipping past his lips. Rey scolds him and Poe tries to laugh, the sound getting tangled up in his throat, he fakes some coughs to cover it.

Rey rolls her eyes at Poe, “those are supposed to be a gift! I don’t even know where Zorii got them or if she will give me more!” She yells at Finn.

“My heart is broken.” Finn says dramatically.

Poe laughs at that, wholeheartedly, no longer distracted by jogan fruit touching or not his friend’s lips, “just ask for more for your birthday, Rey.”

The words come out of his mouth before he could have stopped them, his mother always used to tell him the same when he would persist on having a pilot helmet when he was five; it was all “Mamá, please i will take care of it!” but his mother wouldn't have it. 

However, he is not with his mother anymore and right then they all go silent after Poe’s words, he wants to bump his head against the wall.  _ Does she even know her birthday? _ Poe thinks. 

He scans his friend’s faces, wishing to take his words back. Birthdays were something so…  _ Common _ . He had grew up having them and checking his classmates soulmarks to see if he could have found the matching one. It’s the one thing someone can be sure about, soulmates. Everyone had some, sometimes even multiple ones peppering around one’s body; his own is on his collarbone, beside his left arm, Poe admits that maybe his obsession with leaving his collar extra loose has to do with the fact of his soulmate finally seeing the date one day.

Rey’s own hangs brightly on her right wrist, she doesn’t give it too much thought, Poe suspects, but it’s there, familiar and known.

_ But what about Finn? _ Poe shakes off the thought, he doesn’t need to remind himself about what he already knows, Finn’s mark isn’t on his chest or arms or neck or back; nowhere in his upper body, it makes Poe a little sick just how well he knows that.

He isn’t obsessed with it, doesn’t matter what Beebee-Ate says, Poe gives thought to Finn’s soulmark a reasonable amount of time a day. It isn’t unheard off that a soulmark isn’t up there, just rare, he convinces himself; a little string of hope tightens Poe’s chest, a chance that somewhere a specific day of the year is marked on Finn. Maybe. Could happen. 

“Can’t we like…” Finn speaks up, breaking the stiff silence, “choose our own?”

Poe is startled by the question, he has never had to be worried about that kind of stuff but—

“Yes!” Rey’s enthusiastic glee cuts his train of thought.

“Yes?”

“Finn, that’s a brilliant idea, since Poe’s little party last year I wanted to throw one myself!”

Poe lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, camaraderie clicking in place once again, galaxy’s saved. 

The trio shares again some jokes about that night and Poe’s drunk ass. The thing is, it hadn’t been a  _ party. _ Just Rey, Finn and Black Squadron, some music and lots of Jessika’s smuggled alcohol from Lothal. They all had that little fun breath they needed so badly, Resistance’s missions never seemed to end those days. It also gave Poe some new things to be obsessed about like finding out where Jess got the bottles, Finn dancing, how to beat Snap at a ridiculous drinking game, Finn drunk and touchy, Finn dropping beside Poe to sleep the hangover off, Finn’s face while he slept… Lots of regular things.

“Do you think it will affect the, huh?” Poe points to Rey’s wrist.

She shrugs, “We can still find each other, I just want to have fun.”   


“And Jogan.” Finn teases.

“Yes, and jogan.”

“Jogan, but from Zorii Bl—”

Rey doesn’t give Finn an opportunity to finish that sentence, throwing a random piece of scrap in his direction. While he is rubbing his cheek, the girl looks at Poe and asks, “what do you think?”

He smiles fondly, knowing this could mean for his friends to have a real birthday for once, “let’s do it,  _ scavenger _ .”   


Rey returns the smile, “ _ spice runner _ .”   
  


***

“I had no idea the Republic used this calendar, in Jakku, we had six day,s a week.” Rey muffles.

Poe agrees, “in Yavin it is six days as well, but the official stuff is what we need for your forms, sorry, guys.”   


They are all back at Poe’s quarters, the room feels a little crammed with all of them inside, but Poe wouldn’t change these moments for anything. Rey sitting cross-legged on the only chair of the room, nearby a little mountain of books Poe owns, Finn is on the bed, back against the mattress and looking wistfully at the ceiling; yeah, maybe Poe is enjoying this a little too much, he can’t stop thinking about the lingering scent his friend will leave on his sheets as if they had…

“We already know the years, right? 11 ABY for me,” Finn points to himself, and “and 15 ABY for her.”

That’s true, an old medic and a couple of Coruscant cakes had been involved— Jess is going to kill Poe for wasting the last ones, but the look on Finn’s face… Worth it, for more than one reason he isn’t ready to accept.

“Ugh, sometimes I forget how  _ ancient _ you guys are.”

“Eh!” Finn protests, “I’m not old, the only grandpa here is him!” Poe becomes the new target of their argument.

“Oh, shut up! Rey, you are barely a baby.” Poe says, pretending to be more annoyed than he really is.   


“Well, this baby saved the galaxy.”   


“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”   


“Dameron, do you _ kriffing  _ wanna—”

“Beebee-Ate, get my—”

A loud thud interrupts their bickering, Finn has accidently kicked the wall and all sorts of papers from the shelves above come flying, covering his legs almost like petals made of snow. Poe moves to help him, collecting all those old reports and mostly scraps from his missions. 

Finn is suddenly silent around him, Poe can’t help but swallow taking into account how close they are, Poe could lean a little and they will be breaths away from each other. 

Finally, it’s Finn the one that moves, shifting his weight in the mattress, closer to Poe. Does he know how to breath? It’s not that they aren’t intimate, they share hugs and sometimes during long nights Finn would fall asleep, head on Poe’s lap; he secretly plays those nights over and over again when he is alone enough.

Poe clears his throat, “what’ve you got there, buddy?”

He moves even closer, the piece of paper coming insight now, Poe takes one end in his hands, fingertips almost brushing Finn’s in the other end. 

It’s a report, the battle of D’Qar. It’s crumpled and has some oil stains— surely his fault —, but Poe can’t put the finger on exactly why it is so—

“Rey.” Finn calls her, the scavenger making her way to the bed, curious.

Finn turns to both of them, “this is it, the eight day of the seventh month, the day,” Finn takes Rey’s hand, ever so gentle; a sick burning hurts Poe at the same time, “ _ we _ chose to start our lives.”

She looks with glittering eyes at the report, shaking her head, “our birthday.” 

The two of them melt in a hug, after a second, Finn urges Poe in; little silver rivers threatening to travel down their faces. 

***

Poe Dameron isn’t the most organized person you could meet, but he knows a fair share of stuff. He has lists of dates, events and details he wants to remember; from time to time, he would go over them, over and over, a low hum to appease his concentration.

But right now, his hands are greasy, his mind is, as well; the easiest repair in his Black One, becomes impossible. 

Beebee-Ate beeps at him, questioning. 

“I’m ok, buddy.”

He swears the little droid almost looks up at him, if Beebee had eyebrows they would be arching up just about now. 

“Seriously, stop it.”

A soft bump against his knee, he ain’t getting out of this. 

Poe takes a slow look around the hangar. The last drops of golden light have come and gone, outside the stars dance in a warm night and the ships are colored by clinking bubbles than hanged above him. Some other mechanics, those like him that had lost themselves in the war and are not sure on how to proceed, create a low, white noise that if anything made it easier for his mind to spin around one single thought.

What a thought. A date. Six  _ kriffing _ numbers that are supposed to make him the happiest he could ever be.

He had never believed it would be easy, love never is. He hadn’t mind it, he would fight, never give up, do what he knows best and hope it would be enough,  _ because it had to be _ .

08-07-11

That had to be it. The reason he could be happy after all, the promise that one day he would be happy, that there is someone out there for him. 

Poe remembers looking at it everyday as a kid and then looking at his parents matching ones, a silent connection of their souls, so big it had marked their bodies since the beginning. 

He wouldn’t say now that he is a romantic; of course, he dreams of sharing a life with someone, slow dances and soft walks around the moonlight. But he hadn’t known any better, his life has been shaped by war, a never ceasing menace in the horizon; now he has the chance of living, and he isn’t sure if he can manage.

All those nights when everything was just too much for his mind to ponder, he would trace the mark on his low neck, fingers touching the curves of those sacred digits in his collarbone, that date that promised him a chance to happiness, a moment when he wouldn’t be  _ alone _ .

“Finn and Rey’s birthday is in one week, Beebee.” Poe says, hoping for the droid to understand.

Only one week till the eight day in the seventh month.

***

Poe is studying himself in the mirror, he looks  _ kriffing _ good usually but why the hell does he look messy, in a not at all attractive way today? And these stupid clothes don’t fit him well enough? He feels little and insecure, when he is neither of those things, Poe reminds himself.

Most days, well, everyday, he can simply throw a shirt and some pants on him and he would still know he looks good, attracting enough gazes to boost his ego a bit.

But today, Poe Dameron is too damn nervous. Silver lining of the week had been that he got to fly around a lot, some nights he got back in Ajan Kloss when the whole Resistance was tucked away between sheets.

His gaze drops to the big box, stupid Ajaran wrapping paper poorly enveloping it. He is General Dameron of the Resistance, yes, but there had been more than one reason for those missions. Again, Poe is good with lists, they make sense to him but for that gift there are too many things he fears are truths. He had gone to dozens of planets in the span of a week to get diplomatic information, not to avoid Rey and Finn organizing their first birthday, not to get them gifts from all over the galaxy, not to escape the date that painfully beats against his collarbone. 

In his defense, he had managed to get some good news and supplies from allies.

He sighs against the mirror, thinking of his friend who never got to have a birthday and that trusts him without hesitation; he thinks of his flashing smile and the peppered soft touches they had shared. This is the absolute worst idea Poe had come up with. 

***

The whole Resistance and dozens of people from all the galaxy show up during that summer night in their jungle planet. It makes sense, a General and a Jedi are always popular but if you throw in the mix Finn’s caring nature and Rey’s witty remarks, the party is easily the most attractive attraction in the galaxy.

He sees Rose and Jannah present the sweetest cake they could have come up with, the couple couldn’t quit smiling to one another. Lando and Chewie are over one table, taking bets happily at Holo-Chess, Poe is still convinced they cheat the  _ kriff _ out of that. Karé and Jess are talking in one end, he starts to make his way to—

“Poe Dameron, you are alive!”

Poe loves Finn’s hugs, they are strong and they tell him exactly where he is, a purpose to melt away; Finn shields him and holds him whole, body and soul, grabbing his neck and pulling their bodies as close as possibly, leaving no space for insecurities to breathe.

“Hey, buddy.” Poe’s voice comes out a tad too hoarse and he desperately hopes Finn lets it slip away.

As he always does.

“Rey and I thought we would have to kidnap Beebee or something to get you to come, man,” Finn replies, not taking his arm over Poe’s shoulders as they walk side by side to one of the tables, “we barely talked this week.”   


The gloomy tone breaks his heart just a little, Poe swears, and kicks his ass for being so stupid and leaving his friend’s side.

“Had to get the best gift for you,  _ General. _ ”

Finn smiled at him, close enough for Poe to clearly see his eyes glimmer; he is so doomed.

***

The whole Resistance’s attempt at a Yavinian traditional dance is one of the many highlights of this night, Poe will forever have in his brain the image of Rey and Rose managing to step on both their own and each other’s feet. 

Turns out that they throw incredible parties, even after days of intense celebration after the Battle of Exegol, and Poe isn’t even drunk; when he was younger he used to think the only way to end a good party was getting a hangover so demolishing he couldn’t move for a couple of days. Right now, he would smack his younger self, there is absolutely not best way to end a party than Finn and Rey opening gifts.

Both of his friends cheer and are incredulous at their own luck, it’s somewhat overwhelming the amount of joy they experience and Poe wants to kick himself for not bringing down the First Order sooner because Finn and Rey need to have all the birthdays in the world.

Wrapping paper and gleeful laughs fill the night, everyone stays to see it all, by the time of Poe’s turn, the sun is rising again while the last of the gifts makes its way to the table.

“General Dameron, I hope you made up for all this week or else I’ll kick your ass,” Rey says as any ‘thank you’ and proceeds to open the gift.

Finn laughs and locks eyes with Poe, “thank you, Poe.” He mouths before diving in the gift.

Poe is only capable of standing there, barely breathing. He keeps watching pride and love filling his aching heart as Finn and Rey unpack the little chest filled with things from all over the galaxy. 

Crysallian sparklemint, Ifeoman colorful clothes, some Corellian caf… Till finally, they got to what had Poe on the edge of his nerves; two small works of glass come into view.

Poe had travelled to Aurea that week, one of the Core planets, and if there was a word to describe to planet it was vibrant. Poe wants to take Finn there. 

His friend needs to see the shallow seas that shimmer with brilliant turquoise, while the ocean depths appear a rich, majestic blue. 

They could walk around the deserts sands that reflect the sun’s light in a rippling golden hue, although Poe knows how much Finn hates the desert. 

Together, hand in hand they could explore the tropical forests that cover vast swaths of land in a million shades of lush green. 

Aurea is an iridescent jewel and the gift held a silent promise to take his friends to see it one day.

Now, Finn and Rey each hold one of the glasswork that came out of there, he had heard stories of broken Aurean vessels that become with even greater beauty than before. Those tiny and elegant works are all Poe could afford, he would spend a lifetime of work in another one if that means for his friends to keep that expression forever.

They are beautiful and green little pieces, a single emotion conveyed in the swirling glass,  _ hope. _

“Poe, I—” Finn’s voice is a broken whisper. 

In less than a second, Poe doesn’t even think the Millenium Falcon could be faster, the three of them are melting in a hug, his two touch-starved friends trusting him enough to understand how important this is to them, all of this.

“You asshole, I—” Rey starts, laughing through sparks of joy in his eyes, “we got you something too.”   


“But it’s your birthday, you didn’t have to.” Poe attempts to protest.

“Hey,” Finn says, dragging a finger in his own lips, shushing him and then giving him a conspiratory wink, “just take it, Poe.”

Poe nods because he is too dizzy to do anything else, the vision of Finn’s lips close to his face clouding all ever knew.

He is presented with a small rectangle, wrapped in brown paper with little drawings of porgs and Beebee on it, “it’s Rey’s masterpiece.” Finn jokes.

Eager fingers quickly get the wrapping out of the way, a framed picture left in his hands. 

It’s a candid. The trio in the Millennium Falcon, Beebee and D-O accompanying them. Rey is sitting on the floor, explaining something to the little droids distractingly laying her head against Finn’s knee, the young General is sitting and gesturing with his hands, probably telling a crazy idea or adventure, Poe is by his side, hand on his left knee and head resting on top of Finn’s shoulder, his expression is so soft and his eyes watch the scene so lovingly. Poe looks lovesick, but more importantly,  _ complete _ ; a little family portrait is his gift, he decides.

“Guys, I, huh,” Poe says, the words barely leaving his mouth, “I love this.”   


Poe looks up to the two of them and beams. He’s so lucky. 

***

The frame sits on the little stand beside Poe’s bed, it’s perfect. The party is long gone, everyone helped cleaning up but Poe had caught by the corner of his eye how Rey left with Zorii early between laughs and shy, rosy cheeks. He hadn’t mind, Finn and him took care of everything.

Now his friend is sitting at the end of his bed, again.

“I’m so tired, man.” Finn whispers, yawning softly.

_ Kriff _ , even when he yawns it’s cute, what has Poe done to deserve this.

“Me too, buddy.” Poe replies, sitting by Finn’s side. 

“We should go to sleep.”   


“Yeah.”

“The galaxy still needs fixing.”   


“We have a whole lot work to do.”

“We really do,” Finn sighs, “Poe…”

“Finn?”

His friend shifts, his whole body now only concentrating on Poe, a wandering hand caressing his shoulder, _ in a friendly manner, _ Poe reminds himself.

“What are you not telling me?”   


Of course, Poe had known that at some point his friend would pick up on the fact that he lingers on their hugs, that he melts by his side, that he watches him with lovesick eyes, like in that  _ kriffing _ picture. His soulmark shines against his better judgement.

“It’s nothing, Finn.” Poe says faintly, their bodies are too close for him to think straight.

“We don’t have to talk about it, Poe,” Finn tells him, “but it’s not nothing.”

Poe swallows, how can he tell his friend, a young man that has barely lived, that it’s probably not his soulmate because he doesn’t think one can just choose his own birthday even if Finn chose the one engraved on his skin; how can Poe tell him he is in love with him.

He can’t, so he doesn’t.

“Let’s go to sleep, buddy—”

Soon enough, Poe is shutting up, Finn’s lips made sure of that. It’s soft and gentle and chaste and maybe there are fireworks in Poe’s heart, but it’s even better than that – it’s a wave of warmth that fills him up, spilling out from his heart and the warmth of Finn’s lips on his and rushing to every corner of his body, every inch of him is saturated with love.

They break apart and Poe isn’t sure if he could ever love his soulmate or anyone after this kiss. Their foreheads bump softly, Poe doesn’t open his eyes, but he can still tell that Finn is flashing a beaming smile at him. 

Together, the fall back into the mattress, Poe is cradling into the top of the bed, tossing his shirt in a far from elegant way; Finn laughs at him and takes off his own, flawlessly, and Poe  _ swoons _ at the sight of dark skin against the rising sun, solid muscles and a million places for him to explore. 

Finn is the brightest star Poe Dameron has ever seen.

Slowly, Finn makes his way to Poe, straddling him properly; which is a good thing because the curve of Finn’s waist seems impossibly smooth and he may or may not die in the next five seconds if he doesn’t get to put his hands on it. 

Their mouths are connected again, and Poe feels like he can breathe once again, sure that he could just live off Finn’s kisses for the rest of his life. They are a bit messy, Poe’s eagerness getting the best of him and Finn’s inexperience catching up between them;  _ but it’s perfect _ , Poe thinks, he wouldn’t had it any other way; a clash of teeth and flush that Poe will definitely get drunk on every night if Finn lets him.

Finn moves his hands along his cheeks, to the back of his neck, getting tangled up in Poe’s messy curls. Slowly, Finn’s back hits the mattress, now they are both side by side, somehow managing to not leave each other’s mouth alone. 

Poe’s lips move along, leaving freckles of loving kisses against Finn’s mouth, cheeks, nose, all his face; he is so annoyingly in love but Finn seems to be ok with it so he keeps it going.

He moves lower, experimentally sliding his lips along Finn’s neck, the younger man’s breath hitches at a specific spot and when Poe comes back to it. Finn let’s out a  _ kriffing _ low moan and it’s the only sound Poe will be able to hear from now on, nothing never being on its level. 

His hands cover the entirety of Finn, desperate to touch all the skin that is available right now. Poe’s face is now buried against the flush of Finn’s neck, traveling the curve of his shoulder, kissing the tip of the rosy scar, a reminder of the incredible hero he had fallen in love with.

“You’re so beautiful.” Poe tells Finn, mouth against his ear.

A deep blush extends around Finn’s cheek, smiling all shyly, Poe on top of him, 

_ can we always be like this?  _ Poe wonders.

He kisses his way down Finn’s chest, and he feels under his mouth the beat that Finn’s heart skips when Poe tugs the waistband of his pants. His own heartbeat is probably falling out of rhythm too. Poe finally caresses that spot in his low waist and swallows a sound at how striking it feels under his touch.

Poe looks up into Finn’s eyes, speechless, love-drunk, and he is tugged up again into another all-devastating kiss.

“Fuck.” Finn gasps against his mouth as Poe’s hands keep wandering.

He smirks and with another kiss, dives back into Finn’s body, everything is consuming and his mind goes very hazy, very quickly. Slowly, he brings down the waistband of Finn’s pants, checking constantly for any signs that Finn wants him to stop. 

Poe is careful, reassuring and loving every new inch Finn offers him. Finally, his hip bones are bare and the pants hang suggestively low against the man below him. 

Poe stops suddenly and Finn hums at him, questioning.

He can’t function, if it hadn’t been for the light of the morning, Poe couldn’t have seen it. But he sees it. It’s there, golden and glorious.  _ Finn’s soulmark. _

17-09-02

That date. As in  _ his _ birthday.

He stares at it, checking mentally if it is possible that he has been lied to all his life in case he has been born another day, month or year. 

The date glows under his touch, ignating a hundred emotions in Poe’s body. 

“Hey.” Finn says.

Poe barely registers any movement, but now he is side by side with Finn, their heads close, sharing the same breath. 

“You ok?”

Poe swallows, “that’s my birthdate.”   


_ Very smooth, Poe. _

“It is,” Finn replies, tracing the date on Poe’s collarbone, “and that’s mine.”   


“Did you know?”

“Not till a couple of days ago, I had to fill hundreds of paperwork without you,  _ General _ , I have your whole biography memorized by heart now.”

“Ok.”

“Ok.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“So, you, we, I—”

“Shut up, Dameron.”

And with that, Finn kisses Poe until it feels like he can’t breathe, until it feels like he’s going to forget both of their names and titles and birthdates, until they’re only two people tangled up between the first rays of the morning.

They lay there, among kisses and traces of each other dates, creating a brilliant, epic, unstoppable fate.    
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi guys !! i hope you liked it, it was inspired by one of my headcanons !


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